Gas-supply control for oil burners



April 30, 1929. w. w. WILLIAMS l GAS SUPPLY CONTROL FOR OIL BURNERSFiled July 31.4 1922 .50 necting pipe leading WALTER W. WILLIAMS,

or BLooMING'roN,

PATENT orrlcr.. y

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAMS OIL- O-MATIC HEATING CORPORATION, OFBLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OI?I ILLINOIS.

Application led July 31,

This invention relates to oil burners. The invention has specialreference to ,a control for gas supply and means for igniting the gas inconnection with oil burners.

For information with respect to oil burners and particularly withrespect to the type to which this device is applied,-reference is madeto applicants patent bearing No. 1,451,798', dated April 17, 1923,wherein ap- ]o pears detailed showing and description of essential partsof an oil burner of the class to which this device is tofbe applied.

The invention is related to an oil burner wherein an extraneous gassupply is utilized for ignition of atomized fuel oil generated throughthe action of the machine, active to develop the fuel mixture.

The invention consists in the intel-position of a control devicel forgoverning thesnpply 2o of such extraneous gas, whereby the minimum ofsuch supply is used to effect proper ignition of the fuel atomized fueloil.

The invention also includes the relationing of the extraneous gascontrol to the normal working parts of a fuel burner. r

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1is a Verticalview, partly'in detailedstructural parts of an extraneous gas control mechanism.

Figure 2, is aplan view of the structure shown in `liigure 1.

Figure 3, is a detail view of means relating to an electrical connectionrelated to the gas' control means.

Figure 4, is adetail view, partly in section, ot4 a tension'ed valve andthe relationing of the same to a gas inlet and outlet housing orcontainer that is associated with the gas control means and,

Figure 5, is, in part,a side elevation, part in section showing an oilburner with the 4gas control means associ ted therewith, and in part, adiagrammatic showing of current producing and electrical connections,func- 5 tioning in connection with the operation of the oil burner andthe gas control means.

p Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged detail View of the connection ofthe pressure transmission member adapted to receive the confrom thesource of pressure.

In connection with the device referred to 4in the above me4 tionedapplication, a con- V stantly burning pilot light is shown as a 55 meansof ignition of the'fuel mixture, de-

sectlon showing the .the purpose of GAS-snrrLY coN'rRoL ron ont.miennes.

1922. Seri-al No. 578,618.

veloped as a result of the operation of the so-called burner mechanism.

Experience with this character of ignition has demonstrated that quitevaconsiderable constant gas flame is required in order that it hemaintained against extinguishment through draft or otherwise, therebyresulting 1n quite a large cost for such constant gas supply. Thepresent conception of control of such gas supply is directed to areduction of such cost to the minimum. iThis is accomplished by acontrol of the gas supply that will effect a mere temporary supply ofignition gas at the moment only of starting the fuel atomized oilgenerator. 7o t In the drawings, A indicates a motor housing. .B a fanhousing. Cla blast pipe that communicates with a heating unit (notshown). l) refers to a compression pump housing, said pump being'active,as explained 1u my pending application Serial No. 415,501, to developpressure upon a fluid and air mixture preliminary to discharge to aburner pipe E which also communicates with thc heater unit. Electricalconnections are shown from a spark coil to a motor and to otherfunctioning essentials to the operation of the burner that are referredto especially in connection with my pending application, but'as noclaims are h'erein'beingmade for these features, no special referencewill be made to them.

Referring generally to my present invention, 10, indicates a valvehousing providedwith a bottom closure member 11, fashioned with anupwardly extending centering pin 12', and with a' centrally perforatedmedially disposed diaphragm member 13, also with gas inlet and outletways 14 and 15, respec tively. 16, is a longitudinally centrallyperforated top closure member, adapted for threaded union with the valvehousing an provided with depending portion 17.

, A. valve is related'tol the valve housing for re ulating-flow ofgasthere- 100 through, said va ve comprising a stem 18, centered forvertical movement within the cap member 16, and the tapered valve head19,

the latter adapted for seating `in connection with opening 20, indiaphragm member 13, of the valve housing and the shouldered centeringmember 21. 22, is a coiled spring tension member, centered, its opposedends respectively, in connectionwrh centering pin 12 on bottom closuremembe 11, and center- 110,

lpivoted a suppl ing member 21 on the valve stem, said spring being ofsuch length as to eect a normal closure of the valve head 19, inconnection with the diaphragm opening 20, but yieldable Aunder forceapplied to the valve stem, to effect opening of the valve to permit'gasto pass through for deliveryto an ignition point as will hereinafter beexplained.

eferring now to means for actuating the gas control valve, 23 and 24 arecircular skeleton framing members, adapted to be united by means of boltand nut members 25, each provided with cross framing members 26 and 27,and framing memberV 23, with laterally extending supporting members 28and 29, the latter each fashioned with aV vertically, centrally,disposed seating opening. Within the framing there is adapted to besupported, the pressure transmission member which is referred togenerally as 30, the same being a walled compartment in drum shapedform, preferably fashioned from corrugated metal as copper. At the axialcenter of the bottom wall of the pressure transmission member isprovided a perforation 31 and about said opening and ldependingtherefrom is provided a pipe 32, in register with opening 31 andexteriorly threaded and provided with the shouldered portion 33, saidpipe being adapted for seating within the opening 34 in the bottom crossframing members 26 and 35, is a nut, adapted to be applied to the pipefor securing the pressure transmission member in connection with thesupporting frame structure. A thrust pin 36 is centrally disposed andattached to the top wall of the compression chamber and is adapted,through expansion of said flexible top wall, to be projected upwardlyfor the purpose of actuating a valve operating member. 37, is a leverpivoted upon a bifurcated seating member 38, as at 39. To the forwardend of the lever is movement transmission member, referred to generallyas 40, the same being fashioned at its upper end with a forwardlyextending stop lug portion 41, the transmission member being generallyrelated to lever 37 in a manner to sustain it in proper relationshipwith reference to valve stem 18, that, when the forward end of the leveris 'depressed, the transmission member will engage said valve stem. Thelower end of the transmission member is provided with an extended footpiece 42, which serves, when the lever is epressed, to apply downwardpressure and thrust action to the valve member through the ementaryaction of pin member 43, secured to the framing extension member 28. 1erelationing of the transmission member to the valve stem and stationarypin being such, that when the lever is depressed, the foot piececontacts both with the valve stem and pin and under the co-operativeaction of the stationary pin, the pressure member is held in position toapply pressure to the valve stem and at the same time to effect aclearancemovement of said foot piece from the valve stem, which movementcontinues until the transmission member 40 has wardly advanced, througha turning movement of the transmission member, upon its pivotal support,until it is dislodged from contact with the valve stem, whereby thelatter is projected upwardly through the action of spring member 22,effecting a reseating of valve member 19 in the clearance opening 20, indiaphragm 13, thereby shutting olf the supply of extraneous gas.

The valve actuation, to admit a measured supply'of gas through the gasadmission valve, is designed to be subject to such control that willcause a gradual timed opening of the valve that will permit a flow ofgas through the valve for a period of about twenty seconds and to thatend a resistance is interposed against the thrust action of pin 36,which operates the lever 37 so that its action in raising said leverwill be gradual. I have provided a dashpot for effecting' thc requiredresistance to the action of thrust pin 3G, which, in principle, operatesas the ordinarydashpot. Thedashpotcomprises the cylindrical containermember 44, the bottom closure member 45, and the top closure mem ber 4G,the latter having a threaded relation with container 44.,.said containerbeing fashfrom framing member 23. The container an inlet Way 47. 48 isan inlet valve provided with a cap closure 4S), whereby oil may beintroduced into the container. i

Within container 44, a signed through a central opening in top closurecap head 54, provided with perforations 55. the plunger head isintegrally united circular wall portion '56a of a cup 56, the latterbeing dimensioned for close sliding fit within the container. 57, is aperforated disc loosely supported in clearance relation upon plunger 53to permit it to move up and down thereon, the same being dimensioned toafford a small amount of clearance between its periphery and the inneris a pin supported in a transverse perforation in the plunger at aspaced distance from the plunger head and active to' limit the upwardmovement of said disc; The normal positioning of the parts of thedashpot are those shown in solid lines. Oil having been deposited.withthe container, force applied to raise the plunger 53 will be against theresistance of the oil Within the dashpot, there being a gradual escapeof oil from cup 56 during such raising action and While the cup is inelevated position, through perforation 5 5 in plunger hea'` 54, so thateventually,

the

been forwall of the cup. 59

through the lapse ofa suicientperiod of time, all of the oil will havepassed from the chamber above the plunger head into the bottom of thecontainer. Connection is made between the rear end of lever 37 withplunger 53 by entry of the latter through clearance opening 60 in saidlever and through the provision of take-up-nuts 61 and 62, the samebeing relatively spaced, as may be desired, to accommodate the desiredlength of active movement of said plunger. Lever 37 having been raisedto the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, while the motor is inoperation effecting and maintaining thrustaction of pin 36, uponcessation of such motor action and attendant retraction of said pin,spring will act to =return plunger member with the seating of theplunger head54 upon the bottom of the container and during such downwardthrust movement the loil in the bottom of the container passing backinto the cup 56, will act to raise disc member 57, within the limitdefined by stop pin 59, thereby rendering a comparatively easy return ofthe oil to the cup and container portion above the plunger head.` In theoperation of the device, when the thrust pin 36 is projected upwardly toactuate lever 37, the action of the pin is measurably resisted by thedashpot so that suclrprojection movement is made gradual.

In the normal arrangement of the valve control mechanism, lever 37 isheld in the position shown in solid lilies in Figure 1(the gas controlvalve being closed) under the tension of coiled spring member 50,interposed between extension member 51 on one of the pivot seatingmembers 38 and the lug 52 positioned on the forward end of the lever 37.Under the projection action of thrust pin 36, lever 37, will be raisedagainst theftension of the dashpot until it reaches the position shownin dotted lines in Figure 1, or until it shall have, in its movement,eected a gradual depression of the valve stem to admit the required gassupply and thereafter a release of the same to permit closure of thevalve and will be maintained in such position until such pressure isreleased and thrust pin 36 is retracted in relief of the lever. Uponsuch pressure relief, lever 37 under the tension of spring 50, will bereturned to its normal positioning as shown in solid lines in Fig- Vure1, acting against measured resistance of the dashpot, such return beingeected without, in any wise, acting upon valve stem 18.

The pressure to actuate thrust-pin 36 originates in pump D, air pressurefrom said pump being transmited through connecting pipe 63 to theinterior of pressure transmission chamber 30, which, in turn, acts uponthe upper wall thereof to extend it thereby effecting projection ofthrust member 36 against.

lever 37.

53 to its normal position A fuel supply pipe 64 is shown that, inractice, is designed to discharge fuel, generated by the burnermechanism, from its tip or end portion 65 into a combustion chamber (notshown) .and it is the purpose'of my device to furnish ignition means forsaid fuel supply.

Referring to the course of the extraneous gas supply, 58, is a gas pipefrom a supply source communicating through opening 14 in housing 10, ofthe gas valve at a point below diaphragm member 13 therein, said gaspassing through said valve under the control hereinbefore indicated andtherefrom through the connections 67 and 67a to a lead pipe 66, theforward end of which discharges in proximity to the deflector plate 68overlying the forward end of fuel supply pipe 64. The gas is purposed tobe ignited by an electric spark and to this end an electrical connectionis provided from spark coil 69 to a point `in proximity to the dischargeend of the gas supply tube, comprising a small rod member 70, supportedsulator bracket member 71 upon the fuel supply pipe and the wiringconnection 72, between said spark coil 69 and said rod member. Tocomplete the electrical circuit, connection is made through conductor 73with the contact points 74 supported in insulated relationship withframe portion 23, whereby, when lever 37 lies between and -in contactwith said contact points an electrical circuit will be established and ajump-spark produced across the space betweenthe terminal ends,respectively, of the extraneous supply pipe 66 and the sparking wire 70.The contact relationship between contact points 74 and lever 37 is suchthat, when the motor has been started and pressure is produced toproject thrust pin 36 upwardly and in such thrust action effecting araising of lever 37, the electrical contact is made to continue untilvalve stem 18, shall have been sufficiently depressed to` admit thenecessary measured supply ofgas and for its advancement under normal gaspressure, to the discharge point from gas feed pipe 58 and into positionto be ignited by the then active electrical current, through the mediumof the jump-spark, but releasable from such contact, immediatel upon thetilting of said lever 37 far enougli to effect a release of the valvestem 18, Whereby the latter is closed. 'Ihe braking of the electricalcircuit will discontinue the jumpspark during the period that the motoris 1n action, but upon termination of such action, lever 37 willbereturned in the manner hereinbefre explained, into seated relation withthe contact points 74 in readiness for service in reestablishing thetemporary jump-spark circuit upon the motor being again started for thepurpose of producing fuel atomized oil. What I claim 1s:

1. In an oil burner, in combination, fuel atomizing means, including apressure pump, conductor means for the fuel communicating with theatomizing means, an auxiliary gas conducting means discharging inproximity to the discharge point of the fuel atomizing means, a controlvalve interposed in said auX- iliary gas conductorlmcans, meansresponsive to the pressure created by the pump for actuating said valvefor momentarily opening the same including a lever and a member thereon,operated by a movement of said lever t0 actuate said valve for temporaryopening and thereafter for releasing said valve to permit it to close, ajump-spark circuit, including means coacting with the valve operatingmeans for momentarily establishing the jump-spark auxiliary gas supply.

2. 'In an oil burner, in combination, a fuel atomizing means, includinga pressure pump, a conduit for supplying fuel to said atomizing means,an auxiliary gas conductor means discharging adjacent said atomizingmeans, a control valve interposed therein, comprising a housing havingtwo chambers communicating respectively with inlet and outlet members ofthe conductor means, a passage between said chambers and a valve adaptednormallyfor effecting closure of the passage between said chambers, alever for actuating said valve, including a member connected therewithfor temporarily opening thev same and thereafter releasing it by aunidirectional movement of said lever, means for actuating said leverresponsive to the pressure created by the pump and a jumpspark circuitincluding means co-acting with the valve operating means for momentarilyestablishing the jump-spark circuit to effect 4ignition of the auxiliarygas supply, including an energizing connection between a .c1r-

cuit connection and the valve operating leverclosed when the lever is inits normal position, but operable through the movement of the lever to.,operate the gas control valve to interrupt the circuit, whereby duringthe interval of the movement of thelever to effect a temporaryrflow ofthe auxlliary gas supply and, during the period of such fiow, curcircuitto effect ignition of the rent will be effective to ignite such gas"supply and thereafter will be discontinued after such ignition has beeneffected.

3. In a fuel burner, in combination, fuel atomizinr means, a conductorfor discharge of such uel to a heater, auxiliary gas conductor meansadapted to discharge in proximity to the discharge point of the fuelmixture, valve control means interposed in the auxiliary gas conductormeans normally active for closure thereof, means to operate said valveincluding alever, to first open and then allow said valve to close by acontinuous movement of said lever, and a jump-spark circuit including aspark gap positioned at the discharge point of the fuel and auxiliarygas conduit to effect ignition of the auxiliary gas supply. f

n oil burner comprising a fuel nozzle, a pilot light therefor, means forfeeding atomized fuel to the nozzle, a fan for producing an air currentabout the nozzle, a terminal adjacent the nozzle, a motor for drivingthe fan, connections to said terminal for creating a spark to ignite thepilot light when the motor starts running, a source of fuel for thelpilot light, means operated by said atomized fuel feeding means forintroducing the fuel supply to the pilot light and for immediatelythereafter breaking the circuit to the spark, substantially as setforth.

f 5.Y An oil burner comprising a fuel nozzle, a pilot light therefor,means for feeding atomized fuel to the nozzle, a fan for producinganvair currentaboutthe nozzle, an electric terminal adjacent the nozzle,a motor for driving the fan, connections to said terminal for creating aspark to ignite the pilot light when the motor starts ruiming, a pipesupplying the pilot light with fuel, a valve in said pipe, a leveroperating said valve an electric switch connected to the lever, and adiaphragm yand dashpot actuated by the pressure of said fuel feedingmeans for moving the lever to open said valve and then open said switch,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

- WALTER w. WILLIAMS.

